Mid Bedfordshire MP Blake Stephenson MP has spoken in support of a new law which would 'put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system'.
Josh's Law would make it easier for families of victims to appeal unduly lenient sentences and has been the centre of Mid Bedfordshire resident Tracey Hanson's campaign.
Tracey's son Josh was murdered in an unprovoked knife attack in 2015 and his killer was sentenced to just one year over the minimum term for murder.
Since then, Tracey has campaigned for Josh's Law and raised the issue with her local MP Blake during a meeting in Ampthill earlier this year.
Blake and Tracey then hosted a roundtable discussion in Parliament with evidence from research by the Open University, the University of Central Lancashire and Lancaster University, discussed. Shadow Justice Minister Dr Kieran Mullan also joined the roundtable.
Following this meeting, Blake spoke in support of Josh's Law in the House of Commons during a debate on the Government's Sentencing Bill.
While the Government did not support the Unduly Lenient Sentencing Scheme amendment Blake was speaking in favour of, the Minister did understand the points raised by Blake and said the Government will be looking at them.
Minister Jake Richards said: "The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan), tabled new clause 12 on the unduly lenient sentence scheme, on which the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire (Blake Stephenson) made a powerful speech.
"While the Government understand that the 28-day time limit can be difficult for victims and their families, it is important that there is finality in sentencing and that we avoid ongoing uncertainty about the sentence to be served. The Law Commission is undertaking a review of criminal appeals and held a public consultation inviting views on a range of reforms to the unduly lenient sentence scheme, including extending the time limit.
"We will wait for the Law Commission’s response before responding. I have heard the points that Members have made about communication, and over the coming weeks I will look at changes we can make to processes and functions within the Ministry of Justice to improve the system."
You can see Blake's speech here:
